03/16/2017 - The increasingly important connection between art and science is highlighted in March's Nature Climate Change edition. The book "Alice, the Zeta Cat and Climate Change" by Margret Boysen, Artistic Director at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), serves a prime example in the highly renowned journal's article. It stands for many efforts to make the climate debate part of culture, and culture part of the climate debate.

In contrast to the famous story by Lewis Carroll, Margret Boysen doesn't make Alice fall down a rabbit hole into Wonderland but down a supercomputer into Climate-Modelling Land on Potsdam's Telegraph Hill. With input from scientists, Nature Climate Change notes, Boysen uses metaphors to explain maths. “What I had in mind was not to write another book about climate change, but about how climate scientists work”, she says. Her goal is to replace the fear, guilt, and helplessness that climate change talk often provokes with familiarity, empathy,and empowerment.